Coopers Beach, Mersea Island.

Family spent there week here and we joined them for the day. I and Stev went and had a look at the flood marsh, The pic shows it as the tide is leaving after flood tide. No real surprises here but just good to see what they have done by letting the tide come in.

It was good to see a small flock, 6 of LINNET, mostly young birds. Plenty PIED WAG around the caravans and the most numerious gull BHG. As for LITTLE EGERET there wa 21 in a set of dead trees. Two GREY HERONS. Also REDSHANK at 22 and a single CURLEW. SANDWICH TERN 9, SWALLOW 3 with a surprise in two LITTLE GREBE.

COOPERS BEACH EAST MERSEA.

That time of year?

 Home: This morning another WILLOW WARBLER in the garden with the BLUE TIT'S, ROBIN and usual stuff.

Leath's Ham: As I drove by a couple of COMMON BUZZARD flying above Ballantines. Evidently just missed an OSPREY while I was in Lidle's

Pathways Care Farm: Very little change, but the few gadwall had already gone. Two CPMMPN BUZZARD were soaring overhead. Three SWALLOWS and just the usual stuff but I did get a GREEN VEINED WHITE.

The garden again

 Yesterday proved interesting with 17 LONG TAILED TITS counted as they flew through. Other than that the usual BLUE TIT, WREN and Robin. Also interesting was at 5:35 pm a very brief fly by of a goose over Lake Loathingland. To me it's size being small I make two assumptions. One it was a BRENT GOOSE and the other a PALE BREASTED. Reason is that up to 14 have been seen in the area and one today at Links Hill. So to me my assumption is not provable.

Out and about, well?

 Call in at Somerlyton Staith and the first bird a RED KITE flew right over us and although brief it was the job. It was followed up with a very dark COMMON BUZZARD also was a very odd bird, with such a long neck and beak. But that was it except for WOOD PIGEON.

Home this am: Sat in the garden again. Two SWALLOWS flying South and a KESTREL on roof at the bottom of the garden. I also had WREN and Robin.

  

This Herring Gull was at Links Hill and was evidently privatly rung by the person who reared it.

Home: The start of the day with two SWALLOW  flying South followed by a KESTREL that was roof sitting. Before I could get my bin's on it, it was gone. Hopefully note the RFF. Also five CORMORANT and WREN, ROBIN, BLUE TIT and GREAT TIT. But the best again was a HUMMING BIRD HAWKMOTH.

Somerlyton Staith call in with a RED KITE  strait away. Followed by a COMMON BUZZARD.

 

Carlton SWT

 Species list for the day was 28, nothing remarkable but with still some lingeri9ng migrants. The best bird was a TREEVREEPER but small stuff flying with LAPWING was unidentifiable. Good to see just one SNI[PE and four REDSHANK. I suppose the real stand out animal was a BLOODY NOSED BEETLE. It seems that they cannot fly but hang around slow moving on the deck. No surprise that this is what this job was doing.

It's autume folk's.

 With the night's pulling in, things are on the change. Sure enough the first three GADWALL were back on sight, but as we consider this fact SWALLOWS, HOUSE and SAND MARTINS where feeding well over the lake. But with 23 species and a first CETTI'S WARBLER for the year we stand bacl and let the year move on.

So what is there to rant about? No dout there are big issues in regards to the enviroment and esspecially as some still hold there is not such a thing as CIMATE CHANGE. Well in my life I have seen things change. I suppose this is not considered as evidence byt my first sigting of GREAT WHITE EGRET was back in 1962 at Abberton Resevoir in Essex. Only today at Minismere nine were seen and last winter near my home in one night 17 GWT roosted. As for the amount of birds and the rarety level of some of the birds of the past is not realised. OK rare birds are seen more because of social media. Which gives so many people theoppotunity of seeing what turns up. Good or bad perhaps is not the issue. What is sadley is that what was common to me as a young man is not the case now. Of course there are many underlying issues. Farming, restrictive croping and pesticdes and general cutting and changes in farming must have influenced wildlife habitate. What will change, well govermennt will still build, not encourage change in farming practice. So as we wait we hold our breath and die.

Sad to see.

 From the garden: There are some things that are not understood about many of the things about us. In fact the more you see. the more you realise how little we realy know. In fact we never stop learning. So as for this STARLING I assume it is on it's last legs. Bird flue, botulism or a mental blackout. who can tell but it's activite was more than strange. I exspect that by now it has demised, but I fed it some maggots and it eat well. Flew of a few meters and came back again to feed three times. Unable to stand and lying as if it was sun bathing or eating ants. But none of these applied. So no easy answares. But as always "I done what I could".